UAlbany women looking for win

Danes not just happy to be at tournament on second trip to big time

Tim Wilki, Times Union

By Tim Wilkin

Published 12:09 am, Sunday, March 24, 2013

UAlbany players (from left) Megan Craig, Lindsey Lowrie and Julie Forster practice at Bob Carpenter Center on the University of Delaware campus on Saturday, March 23, 2013, the day before their NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina. (Gregory Fisher / SportsThroughTheLens.com)

The second time around is different for the University at Albany women's basketball team. Getting to the NCAA Tournament is not enough for the Great Danes, who have had a banner season, the best in program history.

The 27-3 record got the Danes to the NCAAs for the second straight season, and they will play basketball powerhouse North Carolina in the first round of the women's tournament. UAlbany is seeded 14th; North Carolina (28-6), ranked 13th in the country in the latest Associated Press poll, is seeded third.

The Tar Heels would have to be considered the favorite. North Carolina plays in a bigger conference (ACC), is 16-4 all-time in first-round games, and won the 1994 championship. The Tar Heels' coach — Sylvia Hatchell — is in her 27th season and has 907 career wins, second only to Pat Summit (1,098).

In the history of the women's college tournament, a No. 14 seed has never beaten a No. 3 seed.

A year ago, the Danes made the NCAAs for the first time and were sent to College Station, Texas, where they were beaten by Texas A&M, 69-47.

This year, with four seniors playing for their careers, they have a different mind-set heading to the big tournament.

When the Danes went to Texas last March, they were wide-eyed and unaware of what to expect. Those things have been crossed off the list.

"The first time we came, we were just happy to be there," said Ebone Henry, the Danes' leading scorer and one of those four seniors. "Now, we are here to win. Last year, we were like, 'Let's go out and see what happens.' This year, we want to win. We can make this happen."

UAlbany breezed through the America East regular season, going 16-0 and defeating league opponents by an average margin of 23.8 points. The last time the Danes lost a game was Dec. 20, an overtime loss to Sam Houston State in a holiday tournament in California.

Since then, the Danes have won 19 straight games.

Hatchell, who said she recruited Abrahamson-Henderson when she was in high school, said at this time of the year, it doesn't matter what league a team comes from or what teams they play. They all belong.

"You know that everyone is pretty good or else they wouldn't be here," Hatchell said. "Everyone has a chance. Any team can have a good game, and any team can have a bad game. Our players know that every game is important, and you don't look at rankings or seeds."

"We have to box them out," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "They are going to crash the boards."

Abrahamson-Henderson, who has taken the Danes to a higher level in her three years, said she knows her team will not be in awe of the Tar Heels. Henry averages 13.9 points per game, senior sharpshooter Lindsey Lowrie gets 10.5 and the versatile Julie Forster scores 9.3 points and grabs 8.3 rebounds per game.

"They are not coming in here and being in awe," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "There are not a lot of nerves."

The winner of the UAlbany-North Carolina game will play the winner of the Delaware-West Virginia game on Tuesday here.